PARIS — French dairy giant Danone said on Thursday it had agreed to buy US organic foods producer WhiteWave Foods with a view to creating a world leader for organic produce.The all-cash transaction values the US company at $12.5bn and will allow Danone to double its business in the US, the French group said in a statement, adding it expected to finalise the deal by the end of the year.Danone’s share price rose nearly 7% in morning Paris trading on news of the deal."Our perfect complementarity will allow us to create a uniquely positioned organic world leader," CEO Emmanuel Faber said in a conference call.Both companies’ board of directors have unanimously approved the deal, Danone said.WhiteWave produces a range of organic dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives, achieving sales of $4bn in 2015 with such brands as Silk milk and Earthbound Farm organic salad.Since its stock market flotation in 2012, WhiteWave has generated an annual increase in operating profit of 20%, Dano...
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